THUNK

Programmers routinely “refactor” code, clarifying its purpose & reorganizing its structure without changing how it works. What else can be refactored, I wonder? Video: http://youtu.be/uARhhLW8FhQ Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/06/28/191.-Refactoring-the-Real-World.html

What if…guys, are you listening? What if the subjects of scientific theories…ACTUALLY EXIST?! OOOOOOH SNAP Video: http://youtu.be/lTouTijlfhg Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/06/15/190.-Scientific-Realism.html

2 out of 10 people who read this will watch this episode. 1 in 20 subscribers will watch it. …I wonder how many subscribers who read it will watch? Video: http://youtu.be/vFS66BK9fRQ Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/05/31/189.-The-Reference-Class-Problem.html

Hey, are you bored being stuck inside? Wanna learn some knots? Video: http://youtu.be/Y0_j8VdCRJM Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/05/17/188.-Knowledge-How-Knots.html

Calling for more nuance in sociological theories seems unambiguously good, but what if - hear me out here - f@#$ it. Video: http://youtu.be/oW5p4jcmiqA Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/05/04/187.-F@-$-Nuance.html

How many legs does a dog have, if you call a tail a leg? Philosophers: “Well…it depends.” Video: http://youtu.be/bWj15Utv3os Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/04/20/186.-Natural-Kinds.html

Many academic fields assume that maximizing utility is synonymous with rationality (& marvel at how bad humans are at it). But the real world very rarely allows such clean analysis - maybe we’re not so irrational after all? Video: http://youtu.be/VeMI5Z2cZHM Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/04/05/185.-Bounded-Rationality.html

People are preparing for the worst of COVID-19, & it’s certainly yet to come, but when so much is uncertain, what’s the proper amount of prepping one should do? (Hint: It involves washing your hands a bit more than usual.) Video: http://youtu.be/vTSfC4JeqGE Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/03/22/184.-Disaster-Preparedness.html

Whistles nonchalantly & gestures at episode title Video: http://youtu.be/fHCfB_e82fU Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/03/07/183.-Indirect-Speech.html

You wouldn’t expect a 45-year-old book on programming to be relevant today, but Fred Brooks’s “The Mythical Man-Month” contains many lessons about project management & design that should resonate with modern coders, problem-solvers, & creators. Video: http://youtu.be/HuJfEHnjZyY Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/02/20/182.-Lessons-From-'The-Mythical-Man-Month'.html

Many shower praise on utilitarianism as The Objectively Correct Ethical System, but is it possible they’re putting the cart before the horse? Do its uncomfortable edge cases give us cause for caution? Video: http://youtu.be/QA2JwEhJss8 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/02/05/181.-Issues-of-Utilitarian-Ethics.html

Scribbling on chalkboards is antiquated, pass…and perhaps the most powerful technology we’ve developed to date to discover abstract truths. Video: http://youtu.be/nLXhqT3PCds Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/01/23/180.-On-Chalk-and-Cognition.html

Come join the Discord server! https://discord.gg/FaHAjXn Video: http://youtu.be/4Uz1trCLfww Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/01/08/179.-Rationality-Without-Justification.html

You probably learned how to do long multiplication by hand in school. Computers used the same algorithm to multiply large numbers together, until computer scientists discovered much, much faster methods, including one published this year that’s “perfect!” Video: http://youtu.be/UK9XUAfRhCc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/11/20/178.-Multiplication-Menagerie.html

How is philosophy like fashion? …that’s not a setup for a pun, I promise. Video: http://youtu.be/kJWmmvLInzo Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/11/06/177.-A-Philosophy-on-Philosophy.html

Violent crime quadrupled in the US between 1970 & 1990, then fell the same amount. What could have caused such a dramatic trend? Economics? Culture? …Lead? Video: http://youtu.be/lt2yD8RTbrI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/09/25/176.-The-Lead-Crime-Hypothesis.html

Experienced coders can sometimes tell bad code on sight, not from any aspect of its inherent functionality, but from largely aesthetic characteristics. Turns out those principles have some use in other fields. Video: http://youtu.be/HH8HvHj5eFQ Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/09/11/175.-The-Aesthetic-of-Programming.html

Although they’re pretty, books are just a kind of product, same as any in your home. So why do nerds like me just lose their minds if someone deigns to mar a text or tome? Video: http://youtu.be/15iNsNI_PbA Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/08/21/174.-On-the-Origins-of-Bookishness.html

Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, tell ‘em, then UGGGHHHhhhgghh Video: http://youtu.be/1iHuXZO8fgg Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/08/07/173.-Against-the-Three-T's.html

Engineers (like me) have a nasty reputation for positing laughably over-simplistic solutions to complex problems in other fields. Perhaps studying those fields closely might help. Video: http://youtu.be/k2PyYJVi4TI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/07/24/172.-'Engineer's-Syndrome'-and-Learning-Techniques.html

The Enlightenment is often held up as a revolution to which all those who value the power of the human mind should pledge allegiance. But there’s a question many smart people fight over without realizing it: which Enlightenment? Video: http://youtu.be/m3D50jUFZIY Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/07/10/171.-Echoes-of-Analytic-and-Continental-Philosophy.html

Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) has attracted a lot of attention for its very intuitive explanation of where our gut reactions about morality come from, but grand claims about its implications might warrant a healthy dose of skepticism. Video: http://youtu.be/4FJFZdUQIUs Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/06/12/170.-Moral-Foundations-Theory.html

Is there such a thing as aesthetic obligation? Do we have duties that are explicitly aesthetic in character, or are they really just moral obligations? With great beauty comes great responsibility! Video: http://youtu.be/G5_8BxYDxVU Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/05/29/169.-Aesthetic-Obligation.html

How is it even possible to appreciate art that’s “so bad, it’s good?” What is it that makes hideously awful movies like “The Room” & “Plan 9 from Outer Space” enjoyable? Susan Sontag has a one-word answer: STYLE. Video: http://youtu.be/JuaclFbpofE Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/05/08/168.-Camp-So-Bad,-It's-Good.html

What does the Heisenberg uncertainty principle have to do with a quantum apocalypse that could unmake the universe at any moment? Video: http://youtu.be/QDxiQF3CWKk Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2019/04/25/167.-False-Vacuum.html